The Fan
by Yuririn
Summary: (Chapter 5 up.) Being famous, attractive, and ace member of the basketball team isn't easy, especially when a fan starts writing strange things about you...
1. Trouble

Dear Reader,

You might find this story weird and all, but let me just inform you that this fic is just a dare given by my sister (Shirodachi) to her friend (Seiyo), who passed it down to me. I don't know how I got caught up with it, but I think the idea was kinda challenging so I accepted it (and the fact that it involved Rukawa-kun ^^). Anyway, when you see some words that are in italilics like _this_, it means that those were her choice of lines that were supposed to be used in the story, as her dare.

This is my first time to write a Slam Dunk fanfic (and with original character). Please bear with me. And, if you ever come and pass by a story written Sarah Yuy, go read it! It's still mine. I just used a different author name for this fic.

I won't explain the japanese terms that you may encounter anymore. I'm sure all of you know its meaning by now.

Thank you and enjoy!

****

Chapter 1 - Trouble

__

RUKAWA KAEDE TASTES LIKE CINNAMON 

The statement was written in big, bold, messy letters of bright red, and was scandalously displayed on Shohoku High's gymnasium wall, with blots of red ink sloppily drizzled across the tiled floor. 

"Who in the world would think that stupid fox would taste something like that?" Sakuragi Hanamichi's boisterous laughter echoed throughout the gym.

"Well what do you think he should taste like?" hissed Mitsui Hisashi, narrowing his eyes over the tall redhead.

Sakuragi cringed, showing a disgusted face. "What do you mean by that, Mitchi?"

"If you don't agree that he tastes like cinnamon, then what do you think he should taste like?" Mitsui pointed out, grinning boyishly.

"Eh?! I don't care! All I asked is, why would someone say something absolutely stupid like that?!" 

"Oh… so now, you're defending Rukawa?!" Miyagi Ryota stood beside him and teased.

"Ryochin!" Sakuragi exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air. "I think that person should have wrote something more better like: Rukawa Kaede is nothing compared to The Genius Sakuragi Hanami---"

Before the so-called "Genius" could finish his sentence, he was punched on the head by their team captain, Akagi Takenori. "Maybe it was you who wrote that!" the tall guy accused.

"Gori!? Would you possible think I would even write the name of that stupid---" Sakuragi tried to protest, but a basketball suddenly flew straight at him, hitting the back of his head. "Kuso!" he cursed as he slowly turned his head and saw the victim, Rukawa Kaede, glaring at him with no emotions.

"You know anything about that?" Mitusi asked Rukawa, pointing his thumb at the wall.

Rukawa picked another basketball from the cart and replied, "No." Then he walked away dribbling the ball to the other side of the gym.

"I bet you did!" Sakuragi yelled as Akagi hit him again on the head.

"You are so annoying, you know that?" The tall center looked at him as if he was throwing daggers with his eyes.

"Why do you always have to hit me?!" Sakuragi complained, gritting his teeth. "I was just stating what I thought!"

"Keep your thoughts to yourself then." Rukawa grumbled.

"Anou… Sakuragi-kun, I think Rukawa-kun wouldn't do such a thing to our gym." The cautious Kogure Kiminobu tried calming up the redhead in rage. 

"Hey! Shouldn't you guys be practicing now?" Ayako, their team manageress reminded them. Her hands where on her hips and she was tapping one foot.

"Yes! Aya-chan is right!" Miyagi nodded approvingly like a child.

"Oniichan!" The lovely Haruko Akagi suddenly called as she came running into the gym. Her face was exhausted. She walked towards her brother and gave him a worried look. "I… I saw Principal Kanada. He is on his way here."

Sakuragi's faced beamed, while Akagi's expression was alarmed. "Line up!" he ordered. Then the members of the Shohoku basketball team immediately formed a straight line. 

After a few moments, a tall, lanky man wearing large round-rimmed glasses entered the gym, behind him was their basketball coach, Anzai-sensei. They all greeted them with a nervous 'Good Morning'.

Their school headmaster looked at the wall and then approached the tall center.

"Kanada-san," Akagi bowed his head.

"Akagi-kun," The man said, adjusting his glasses. "Do we have a problem here?" he squinted his eyes.

Akagi, with his head still inclined answered, "We were only informed this morning. The first class who used the gym called us to see it."

Principal Kanada walked towards the wall and placed a finger on it. The he looked at his finger and turned back to show it to them. "The paint is still fresh, whoever did it just wrote it this morning. Do you know who was the first class who used the gym?"

Haruko all of a sudden gasped. They all eyed her from afar.

"Yes, young lady?" Principal Kanada looked at her thoughtfully.

"It was our class who first used the gym this morning." She responded nervously.

"Nani?! Ha-haruko-san?! Haruko-san wrote that?" Sakuragi dropped his jaw. "Why?!"

"Baka!" Mitsui and Miyagi snapped back. Then Akagi again hit Sakuragi on the head with his fist.

"Do you know who did it?" The principal asked, ignoring Sakuragi's actions.

Haruko shook her head. "When we opened the door it was already there." She explained.

There was a sudden feeling of relief coming from Sakuragi.

"I see." The principal nodded briefly then he turned to Coach Anzai. "We have to close the gym for a while. No one will enter, until that monstrosity is removed."

Anzai-sensei nodded helplessly.

"Wait! How will we practice then? The winter games are near!" Miyagi voiced out.

"That's right!" Sakuragi clenched a fist. "We have to practice!"

"That's not my problem." Principal Kanada replied, walking out of the door then he stopped and took a quick glance on their fat coach. "Anzai-sensei, may I excuse Rukawa-kun? I need have a word with him."

"Certainly." Anzai-sensei agreed, looking at Rukawa.

Rukawa, with his messy hair and pale skin walked out of the gym following their headmaster.

* * *

"Are you in some sort of fight, Rukawa-kun?" Principal Kanada asked him from his air-conditioned office. Rukawa was seated in front of him.

"No sir," he answered briefly.

"Maybe you forgot and made someone angry at you?"

"No."

"Do you think someone wants you out of the team?"

"No." He said, then an image of Sakuragi entered his mind. He looked annoyed, but still he said no.

"Do you think someone is jealous of you?"

"No."

"Do _you_ taste like cinnamon?"

"No."

"Any ideas of who that person could be?"

"No."

"Well then," the principal sighed while leaning back on his chair and clasped his hands. "This might be a little strange but, with a personality like that I'm sure someone might be obviously mad at you."

Rukawa chose not to answer. He didn't care.

"Or it could be someone wanting your attention."

The idea surprised him for a moment.

"If this happens again, please to report it immediately." Principal Kanada stood up. 

Rukawa rose from his seat not even saying a thing and left the room.

Outside, he walked quietly along the school corridors. Students, especially girls were overwhelmed with his sudden appearance in the hallway. He was wearing his basketball training shorts and a black sweatshirt, with a white sleeveless shirt on top. His hair, as always, were messy and almost covered his eyes. Still, he was flawlessly handsome. His dark blue eyes staring blankly at the air as he descended the stairs.

"Rukawa-kun." A girl with a layered haircut reaching her back spoke his name softly as he passed by her.

"Naomi-chan!" Another girl, with hair just reaching her shoulders, tried getting the attention of her awe-struck friend. She looked annoyed to the fact that Rukawa in all his glory walked pass by them without even noticing, as if they were ghosts.

"There he goes, Yumi-chan. There he goes…" Naomi faltered as she followed him with her eyes.

"Naomi-chan." Yumi sighed and shook her head. "But he… he's a member of the basketball club right? I thought you didn't like that sport?"

Naomi giggled and grinned, "I know that. I just find him attractive."

"You should go out with Haruko-chan often rather than me." Yumi looked away. "She likes him so much, I've heard."

Yumi's friend's expression changed. "But, you are my friend! I can't just turn my back away from you." She said smiling.

"Maybe." Yumi returned a faint smile.

"You are my best friend, Yumi-chan." Naomi tilted her head and gave her sweetest smile. "It's just a school girl crush. Come on, let's go back to the library."

Yumi, as Naomi called her, nodded and followed.

When they turned left and entered the library door, two other girls kept their voices low as they talked.

"Why did Naomi ever exchanged Hatsue-san for that shy girl?" The first girl whispered.

"I don't have a clue. I don't like her that much. She's too quiet." The second girl answered and both then marched down the hallway.


	2. Girls

This chapter might probably bore you a bit, but hey, it's still part of the plot. ^_^ 

Thanks to those who reviewed. I'm not going to talk anything about my OC's for the mean time. It's just up to them to solve the mystery.

I forgot to add a disclaimer. I own Slam Dunk… in my dreams and those two other girls, namely: Naomi and Yumi (and some others) are just a figment of my imagination.

Enjoy the rest of the story.

****

Chapter 2 - Girls

The school cafeteria was awfully packed the other day. The news of the grafitti in the gymnasium spread like a wild forest fire.

"_I was not aware!_" One girl with pigtails hanging down to her shoulders cried out. This girl was given the name, 'Ka', by the usual bystanders of the school. She sat in between two other girls. Their group was very known in school as the 'Rukawa Brigade'. They were the most annoying bunch of girls Shohoku high had. The number of girls from their organization was evidently increasing by the minute. 

"Me too!" The girl with short brown hair, whom they called 'Ru', sat beside Ka's right, agreed. "I just heard from one freshman yesterday that Principal Kanada closed the gym because someone wrote something bad about Rukawa-kun!"

'Wa', The tallest girl with the longest hair, crushed her plastic cup and raised her fists. "Whoever did that awful thing must pay!"

The two other girls nodded, their faces furious.

"We must save our beloved Rukawa-kun from…from…that…thing!" Ru immediately stood up, wobbling the table and causing some of their food and drinks to spill.

"I absolutely agree!" Wa rose from her seat, her fist high.

"Let's do it!" Ka stood up between them. She placed her hands on her cheeks then the three of them shrieked like a group of banshees. 

"Rukawaaaaaa-kuuuuunnnn waaaa daisukiiiiiiii!!!" They scandalously chorused with fake tears gushing down their eyes.

Everyone in the cafeteria looked at them dumbfounded, some were obviously irritated and annoyed. The three girls didn't care, they were always like that wherever they were, whatever the time was. They would absolutely positively do _anything_ for Rukawa Kaede.

Soon, the three girls marched down the cafeteria door chanting their infamous "Ru-ka-wa! Ru-ka-wa! L-O-V-E, Ru-ka-wa!" They had a long line of other girls trailing behind them, shouting that same cheer.

"Is it just me or those girls just mentioned that the gym was closed?" Noda Naomi rolled her eyes in annoyance.

Ichihara Yumi nodded shyly. "Saori-chan told me, that her brother Yasuda-san told her, that someone wrote something very strange about Rukawa-san."

"Wrote?" Naomi raised an eyebrow.

"Vandalized the gym wall with red paint."

"What?!" Her eyes wide.

Yumi nodded again. "She mentioned something like, 'He tastes like cinnamon'."

"She?" Naomi's eyerbrows twitched again.

"Uh, would a guy do that to him? It obviously looks like it was written by a really obsessed female fan." The shy girl tried to explain. For Yumi, that presumption was very rudimentary. Everybody in the school knew Rukawa's effect on the ladies. And because of the fact that she loved reading mystery novels, she thought it was be a good idea to snoop the case out. But, she knew she couldn't do it.

"Cinnamon?" She raised her voice, almost ignoring Yumi's explanation.

Yumi looked around and murmured, "Isn't that just weird? Why would someone even think he tastes like cinnamon?"

Naomi smiled and blushed, "Maybe he does! I love cinnamon myself."

"You think?!" Yumi's soft voice rose.

"Oh you are so gullible, Yumi-chan!" The long-haired girl laughed.

Yumi's face turned red. "Sorry."

Naomi laughed more and sighed. "Silly girl. I was just teasing. Who knows? Maybe he _does_ taste like that."

"Oh."

"Who do you think did it?" Naomi changed the subject, sipping her juice.

"I don't know. Everybody thinks the suspect is a freshman." She answered nervously. 

Naomi looked at Yumi and lowered her head. "How come? There are sophomores who also go crazy for him."

"I…I heard that the paint was still fresh when they found it." Yumi watched an ant dive in her unfinished soba. 

"So? I say, it still could be a second year student." Naomi folded her arms.

"They think that the suspect is a freshman from the first class who used the gym yesterday." She insisted, speaking in a low voice.

"Why do you keep saying it's a freshman?" Naomi asked coolly.

Yumi shook her head briefly, "I don't think sophomore students will do something like that."

"It could be one of those afterschool or midmorning gangsters." A voice appeared behind them.

The two girls turned around and found Haruko, Fujii and Matsui standing behind them. Both were surprised to see the three.

"You should have at least greeted them, Haruko-chan." Matsui told her in a low monotonous tone.

Haruko just smiled a sweet smile and then her face turned serious again. "May we join you?" She prompted.

"Sure. Yumi-chan, and I were just talking about the inccident yesterday." Naomi informed.

Haruko and her friends sat on the opposite side, with her in the middle. Yumi became quiet for a while.

"So you think it's done by a gang?" Naomi rested her chin on one hand while looking at Haruko.

She nodded, "My brother thinks so. No one could be that early to write something that big on a wall."

Fujii, the girl with shorter hair, bit her lip and spoke softly. "Maybe it could be some people from another school. They could be a little insecure about Rukawa-kun."

"If it was, why would it write something like that?" Matsui, the girl with high pigtails, shot back at Fujii. "I don't think that person is insecure. I think it wants to make fun of Rukawa-kun."

"Well, Yumi-chan here think it's a freshman from the first class who used the gym." Naomi pointed a finger at her friend beside her.

Haruko and Fujii gasped. "But, it was already there when we entered!" Fujii tried to explain.

Matsui just nodded, her arms folded and her eyes closed.

Yumi just sat back sulking. She was obviously too shy to answer.

"Yumi-chan," Haruko called her and smiled nervously. "It could probably be done by the last person who left the gym too."

"But, the basketball club is always last to leave right?" Yumi suddenly answered, not looking into Haruko's eyes.

"She has a point." Naomi defended her friend. "You think it is one of the members?"

The three girls became quiet.

Naomi spoke again, "It could be someone from the team who is very jealous of him. Do you know anyone, Haruko-chan?"

Haruko put a finger on her lips and thought.

"I bet it was that redhead friend of yours." Matsui guessed.

Fuji began to tremble. "Wasn't Sakuragi-kun a gangster back in Junior High?"

Haruko's face was in shock. "No! Sakuragi-kun wouldn't do such a thing. He and Rukawa-kun… He… he…" Her face becoming more pale.

"They don't really like each other." Matsui explained. "The first one is a snob and the other one is stupid." She spoke casually at Naomi and Yumi.

Naomi laughed then suddenly there was a beeping sound coming from her pocket. She fished in and pulled out a pink cellphone.

"_Of all places to call!_" Furiously, she gripped the cellphone with one hand then answered it. "Yes, what is it this time, mother?"

Haruko, Fujii, Matsui and Yumi just watched her.

"Oh." Naomi's face turned pale. "I see… okay… I will… thank you… bye." Afterwards she placed the cellphone back in her pocket and stood up.

"Where are you going?" Haruko looked up and asked her.

Naomi sighed. "My mother called. I need to go to the hospital, the doctor says he wants another check-up." Without even saying good-bye, she left the cafeteria.

"What's that all about?" Matsui asked Yumi, who was all alone on the other side of the table.

Yumi looked over the door and spoke softly. "Naomi-chan says her mother thinks she is sick. She wants her to have daily check-ups in the hospital."

"What kind of sickness?" Haruko asked curiously.

"Something she had when she was a child. She told me she fell on the stairs." Yumi divulged her friend's secret.

"Broken bones?" Matsui shrugged.

"I don't know. Sorry." Yumi apologized.

"Well then," Haruko stood up. "It's almost time for the team to practice…" she paused, "Oh, I forgot. The gym is closed for repainting."

Matsui rose from her seat and placed a hand on Haruko's shoulder. "Too bad you can't see Rukawa today."

A blush immediately spread on Haruko's face.

"I…I should get going too." Yumi stood up and bowed her head. "It was nice talking to you."

"You too, Yumi-chan. We should do this more often." Haruko offered.

"Good-bye!" Yumi waved and walked out of the cafeteria.

"Shouldn't we go as well?" Fujii looked up her two friends. "Maybe we can go check on the soccer team this time?"

Matsui rolled her eyes. "You just want to see that new player in the team." She teased.

Fuji turned red and looked at Haruko.

Haruko sighed, "Let's just go home early." And so, she went out the dining hall with her friends beside her.


	3. Letters

Hi!

To those who don't know yet, this fic is a dare given to me by my sister (Shirodachi). She gave me a list of random sentences that I should place in the story. I will try and do my best to try to squeeze in those sentences in order to fulfill her dare. The sentences will be in _italics_ (sentences, and not words). The reason why it became a Rukawa fic is because she wanted the first line of the fic to be: 'Rukawa Kaede Tastes Like Cinnamon'. So there.

I'm a conservative and simple kind of person, so I don't do YAOI fics. ^_^v My OC's are there to make the story a little intriguing.

For your information, the 'letters' you will read here, are taken from the english translated lyrics of some Slam Dunk songs.

Thank you to all of those who reviewed. Would you like me to email you when the next chapter has been uploaded? Just tell me.

You might find it freaky again, but that's how the story goes.

Enjoy!

****

Chapter 3 - Letters

A week passed and the school gym was now open…or more or less welcome to the public again. The time was already 8:35 in the evening, the members of the Shohoku Basketball club just finished their training and instantly hit the showers.

"You dropped this." Kogure Kiminobu picked up a piece of paper. The person he called didn't even try to look back.

"Oi! Rukawa-kun!" He tried calling again.

The tall freshman stopped and took a quick glance from behind his shoulders.

Kogure, with a towel still hanging on his bare shoulders, his hair wet and his face fresh from the shower room, approached Rukawa and handed him the piece of paper.

Rukawa just stared at it.

"You dropped it." The deputy captain repeated, returning the neatly folded piece of blue paper. "It was in your locker."

"No." Rukawa turned away and reached for the door knob.

"It must be important, you shouldn't go ignoring these kind of things." His hand still held the paper, giving it back to it's original owner.

Rukawa finally reached for the paper, then he crumpled it and threw it in the waste basket beside the door. He turned the knob slowly and left Kogure all dripping wet.

Kogure was left with a confused and shocked look on his face. He clenched his fist and looked at the waste basket. "It's none of my business but…" He adjusted his glasses, then reached into the basket and picked up the crumpled paper.

Carefully, he uncrumpled the piece of paper. It had Rukawa's name written on it with a flourish. "It _is_ for him." He thought. Kogure stood eyeing the paper, thinking if he will give it back or he will just go read it.

"He threw it away, that means he doesn't want to read it." He concluded, unfolding the paper. Upon reading, he gave a sudden gasp, his face turning red. "It's a _love_ letter?"

"I just want to love you, although I can offer no proof of that.

I swear it, It's forever. because no matter the doubts and hardships,

We long for each other.

Everflowing love is melting into your heart now, 

while you keep your eyes on the still undetermined future time goes by,

but we are never alone. "

Kogure felt a tingle creep down his spine. He noticed there was another letter slipping out of Rukawa's locker. Slowly he pulled it out and unfolded it. As he began to read, there was a tap on his shoulder.

"Oi, Kogure… what are you doing to Rukawa's locker?" Mitsui's husky voice came from behind him.

Kogure's body stiffened. He accidentaly dropped the letters down of the floor. 

Mitsui raised an eyebrow, waiting for his friend to say something.

"Mi-mitsui! You scared me!" Kogure took a step backwards, his face pale. "I… I was just…"

Shohoku's shooting guard bent down and picked up the papers and looked at it. "What's this?" he asked and began to read it aloud:

  
"I'm lost in your casual glance.

It feels like I'm in love with you, yet it's like I'm being toyed with.

I can't lie to my soaring hearbeat anymore."

His serious expression turned surprised all of a sudden. Mitsui gave Kogure a loathy stare. "Don't tell me _you_ wrote this?"

"No! I just picked that up…it belongs to…Rukawa."

"Rukawa?" Mitsui looked at the other piece of paper. "Rukawa wrote this?" his voice sounded disgusted.

"No!" Kogure shot back, "It's _for_ Rukawa."

"Nani? Then why are you reading it?"

"Reading what?" Miyagi came into the picture. He had a towel wrapped around his waist.

"Rukawa's love letters." Mitsui replied, grinning mischivously at Kogure. "Kogure here says he found it."

"I swear!!! I---" Kogure exclaimed as he tried to defend himself but Mitsui cut him off.

"_Shut up, Kogure._" He said casually, turning to Miyagi who had his forehead creased.

"I'm actually lost. Can you please explain that to me again?" Miyagi walked to his locker and opened it.

Kogure approached Miyagi and looked at Mitsui. "Let me."

"Fine." Mitsui shrugged handing Kogure the papers.

"I found this---" Kogure waved the papers in front of Miyagi, "---fall off Rukawa's locker when he closed it. He didn't seem to notice so I gave it to him. But, he didn't take it, instead he threw it in the trash can… I… was a little curious so I took it and read it."

Miyagi and Mitsui's face blankly stared at him. "That's cheeky." Miyagi sneered.

"Yeah, I didn't know you were into peeking into other people's businesses." Mitsui walked to his locker, he opened it and pulled out a shirt.

Kogure's jaw dropped. "I wasn't! I just got curious! Who would put something like this in his locker?!" He walked to his own locker on the other side, the papers still in his hands.

"Come to think of it. Yeah… who would? We are the only people coming in here." Miyagi thought for a moment.

"You suppose it's one of _us_? No one else comes in here but us, guys." Mitsui's eyes grew wide with excitement. "You think someone in the club is _gay_?"

Kogure felt that he would faint. "That's absolutely ridiculous! _Ayako_ is a girl."

Upon hearing the name 'Ayako', Miyagi felt a sudden explosion in his mind. He quickly leaped from his side of the room to Kogure's and grabbed him by the towel. "What did you say?! Are you trying to say that Aya-chan could have placed those letters to Rukawa?!" His face was red and fuming.

"Anou… Miyagi…" Kogure panicked. "I didn't mean it that way. I'm just saying that _some_ girls can enter this room too… if they want to…"

"Chill out, Miyagi." Mitsui calmed him down, "Kogure is right. Why would Ayako do such a thing. I mean, come on…don't you even trust her?"

Miyagi slowly let go of Kogure, "Don't make predictions like that. It scares the hell out of me."

"Well, you should give those back to Rukawa. He has to know." Mitsui slapped Kogure's back. "Maybe it was the same person who decorated the wall last week."

"You may be right." Kogure fixed his glasses. "I'll give it back tomorrow. He probably went home by now."

* * *

Ichihara Yumi strolled along the park that night with a frown on her face. In her hand was a book.

"I can't believe they didn't have the fourth book." She grumbled. "I can't wait all week doing nothing."

She took a left turn and arrived in her neighborhood. "I must go to the library first thing in the morning." She clenched her fists and continued walking. Then she heard some dribbling sounds coming from their local court. "Who could be playing basketball at this time of thr night?" She didn't really have a clue why she was so curious all of a sudden. Yumi hid behind the trees and took a peek.

"Ru-rukawa-san?!" She held her breath. 

Yumi watched the tall rookie dribble the ball, running swiftly like the wind. He made a sudden leap with a matching perfect form and threw the ball high into the air. The ball, gracefully soared into the night and went through the hoop smoothly without bumping onto the ring.

"Sugoi!" She exclaimed. Rukawa who stood silently in the middle of the court heard her from afar and took a quick glance at her. The shy girl felt her cheeks burn, then she gasped and dropped on the ground, trying to hide herself. Slowly she crept away from the court, panting, her face terrified.

"No. I promised myself. I… can't…I…musn't let him see me…" She felt like she could cry, gritting her teeth, she ran away headed home.

* * *

"At twilight, when your profile reflects bittersweetly in my eyes selfishly,

I want to sweep you away since gentleness is erased by the bustling streets.

Let's combine our warmth in this quiet room.

The two of us as we are now are no mistake.

The more I think dearly about you, the crazier I become."

Rukawa's face was stunned as he crumbled a piece of paper he found inside his school locker the next morning.

"What a shitload of crap." He mumbled as he threw the paper on the floor. "Why are they wasting their time."

Rukawa took off his shoes and replaced it with his school shoes. He silently headed to his homeroom class. 

"Rukawa-kun!" One of his classmates called him.

Rukawa turned to the guy as he took his seat. 

The guy's face went stiff, then he laughed nervously. "Some person wanted to give this to you." He fished in his pocket and handed him a piece of blue paper.

Helplessly, he took the paper and made a silent groan. "Not again." He thought, looking irritated. The guy went back into his chair and continued to talk to his friends.

Rukawa unfolded the piece of paper slowly, although he already knew what its contents could be. His eyes popped out as he read the message:

"I will hold you close and won't let go.   
I will pour out the unchanging emotion called love   
And that will be the link that will softly lead us to tomorrow.

You draw your slender shoulders to me, eyes begging for a kiss   
A fleeting moment that was exchanged in embarrassment.

As much as we play around, as much as we gaze at each other   
the excitement will know no end.

It's only you, Who I want to hold in my heart."

"Hn." He crushed the paper in his hands. After a while their teacher rapped on the table and began to discuss. Rukawa felt a little drowsy and went to sleep.

"Hey! Great day eh?" Mitsui entered the locker room, Rukawa appearing a few minutes after him.

"Rukawa-kun!" Kogure called him as Rukawa entered. "It's about those letters---"

A crumpled piece of paper flew straight at Kogure. Luckily, with his quick reflexes, Kogure caught the paper and unfolded it. "Another one huh?"

Rukawa ignored him and opened his locker. To his surprise there was no paper or whatsoever that didn't belong to him inside. He felt relieved for a moment.

"Lucky day?" Mitsui grinned, then he turned to Kogure. The deputy captain just shrugged.

"O-re wa…Tensa-i… Basket-to…Man… HANAMICHI…" Sakuragi soon entered with a big grin on his face.

"Do'ahou." Rukawa snapped silently, closing his locker. He got down on one knee to tie his shoe lace.

"Nani?!" Sakuragi jolted he opened his locker the moment he came it. "What's this? A letter?!"

Mitsui and Kogure looked at him from where they stood. Rukawa rose and just looked at Sakuragi as he opened the letter.

"Sakuragi-kun…" Kogure faltered, he moved forward to look at the paper. 

"Nyahahaha!!!" Sakuragi blushed, "Crazy fans of mine. Don't they know that my heart is already taken?"

"You think you actually have fans?" Mitsui sneered. He followed Kogure to see it. "That ain't yours Sakuragi."

"How can you tell, Mitchi? You're just jealous!" Sakuragi grinned deviously, narrowing his eyes.

"It's says 'For _Rukawa_'" Kogure informed him.

"What!? This letter is for that stupid fox?!" 

"That's what the name says doesn't it?" Mitsui shrugged, peeking behind Sakuragi's back. "Oi, Rukawa why don't you read this one. It's good."

Rukawa eyed him. "Hn." Then he walked towards them. Mitsui snatched the paper from Sakuragi's clutches.

"Gah! I don't have time for this." Sakuragi complained and stomped out of the room. "A genius must practice instead of reading crazy fan mail."

Mitsui handed the paper to Rukawa. Both he and Kogure anticipated for his response. If he would even elicit one.

The tall rookie, with his eyes of blue, read the letter. 

"I've got my eyes only on you.

Since the day we met, now and forever.

when you're next to me, I don't need anything else,

I love you.

It's an entrance to the paradise in the hill,

Changing my mind, and my dream,

and keeps on running in my heart.

Like you will know how,

I'm crazy for you."

Rukawa felt a little uneasy and at the same time freaked out, but he didn't show it to his fellow team mates.

"Well?" Mitsui asked impatiently.

"It's nothing." Rukawa coldy replied. He turned and went back to the court.


	4. Rendezvous

Are you still there?

Good. Here is Chapter 4. It might be a little boring at start and yes it's still weird… very weird.

I'm still thinking of making this story end with Rukawa-kun and an OC. Although, I'm having second thoughts… Oh well! *throws her hands in the air* A little romance in the story wouldn't hurt.

I would also like to share some stuff. I've read the fics so far of: *edit* Shirodachi */edit* iron kitty, nothingtodo, silhouette panther and frozenfemale. I recommend that you read their stories too because they're really good. *wink* This isn't paid advertisement. 

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I made a new fic entitled: "Dilemma". I would really appreciate it (and feel so happy) if you read and review the story. ^_^

Thanks to Andrew, for helping me with the last line of this chapter.

Again, this story is a dare given by my sister (Shirodachi) and Slam Dunk owns j00!

Thank you again for all your reviews, comments, suggestions.

Happy reading. ^_^

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Chapter 4 - Rendezvous

She hurried past the gates of her school: Shohoku High. It was already 8:15 in the morning, she was 45 minutes late for her first subject. "It's all right, I have the excuse letter right here---" She fished into her school bag to check. Good. It was still there. "---Being absent for three days won't hurt." Quickly she raced to her locker to change her shoes. "Damn!" She swore. "My keys!" She immediately opened her bag and searched for her locker keys. She found it hiding near her cosmetic case. Her hands were trembling and sweaty from all her stammering. Nervously she tried to insert the key inside the lock…

"Naomi-san." A shy voice greeted. 

Surprised, she dropped her keys and swore. "Yumi! Don't scare me like that!" Naomi bent down to pick it up. Her hands still shaky.

"I was waiting for you outside…" Yumi began but Naomi cut her off.

"Thanks. You didn't have to do that." She replied flatly. Finally, she managed to open her locker. She quickly changed her shoes and shut the door with a metallic bang.

"Let's go." She called Yumi.

"Sensei is absent." Yumi informed, following her lead. "Flu."

"Oh. So that means…I'm really not that late at all?" There was a sign of relief in her voice.

Yumi nodded. "I think she went to the same hospital as you did."

"How did you know that?"

"I did some checking up."

"That's not allowed, Yumi."

"I wanted to make sure she was absent, I don't want missing any of her class if ---"

Naomi placed her hand right in front of Yumi's face. "I get the picture. So what's been happening while I was away?"

"Nothing much. I copied some notes for you. It's in my bag upstairs." Yumi told her.

"That's very nice of you." Naomi complimented. "Do you do that often? I mean… copy notes for other people?"

Yumi nodded briefly. "Since in junior high. I can't stand it when people miss their classes."

"You're very nice, Yumi. I'm glad I met you." Naomi smiled sweetly, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Let's get back to class. I have this idea I've been wanting to tell you."

"You're not serious!" Yumi exclaimed, her hand covered her mouth. She and Naomi were now back inside their classroom.

Naomi rolled her eyes. "Yes I am. Why do you even think I would tell this to you if I wasn't?"

"But… I think his stalker stopped already. There are no rumors about it."

"Who knows?" Naomi shrugged. "It might attack again. I just want to be prepared. It's not like that person will stop after all that? It might be exciting too. You worry too much, Yumi-chan."

"What do you plan first?" She asked, giving up.

"I want to talk to Rukawa-kun about this." Naomi smiled triumphantly.

"No!" She gasped. "Can't you just investigate without even asking him?"

Naomi's eyebrow raised. "Why are you getting scared all of a sudden? I thought you liked solving mysteries?"

"This… this is not way I thought it could be. I don't think Rukawa-san even cares about it." Yumi tried to explain.

"Of course he does! It's _his_ reputation.. I'll be the one talking to him anyway." Naomi folded her arms to her chest.

"How can I help?" Yumi asked shyly.

"Let me see." Naomi gave it a thought. "You can ask other people about it, like those other second year students."

"Why are we doing this anyway?" Yumi lowered her head.

"I just want to help our dear ace and besides, wouldn't it be fun?" She giggled, tossing her long brown hair aside. "We can start after class."

* * *

Practice time was held a little earlier for them, since the Winter Games were about to start. Coach Anzai decided that they should really be prepared for their next battle against the others teams.

"How's it going? Got any more fan mail?" Mitsui teased as he slammed the door of his locker.

Without even answering, Rukawa pulled out his black armband from his duffel bag and wore it.

"That's a good sign, isn't it?" Miyagi approached them, a ball in his hands. "We don't have to worry about you getting distracted."

"I'm not distracted." Rukawa stood up from the bench and headed for the door.

"Do you even think he worries about that?" Mitsui eyed him.

"We may never know." shrugged Miyagi.

"My goal is to become number one." The tall rookie dribbled the ball and tried to make a long shot. It went in, of course. Then he did it again and again…

"Oi, Rukawa!!!" Sakuragi's voice boomed in his mind. "Stop showing off and and quit hogging the ball!"

"That guy is such an antogonist." He thought as he concentrated for another shoot.

"Line up!!!" Akagi yelled. The tall center stood in the middle of the court, wearing his usual red shirt and blue jogging pants. 

The members of the basketball club hurried to get in line. Mitsui and Miyagi, who both came out from the locker room quickly ran to the middle to get in line as well.

* * *

It was late that afternoon when the basketball club finally ended their training. Naomi was quietly sitting near the gate of their school, waiting. Her heart all of a sudden was beating fast as she heard voices coming towards her. "It's them." She told herself. "Practice is finally over."

He was the last come out. Dragging his bike outside the gate, Naomi nervously approached him.

"Rukawa-kun," She said in a shy voice.

He looked at her saying nothing.

"My name is Noda Naomi, I'm here to ask you question, if you don't mind.." She said politely.

He didn't answer.

Her blood heated up with the mix of nervousness, excitement and adoration. She couldn't believe she was actually in front of him. Talking to him, face to face! 

"Can you tell me your thoughts about the incident that occurred weeks ago?" Naomi sounded like a reporter. She had too. She didn't want to lose her poise in front of _him_. This day was too special for mistakes.

"Stay calm… stay calm… wait for his response then ask another question…" She said in her mind. "Oh, this is so good to be true!" 

There was a long pause before he could answer. Still, she waited.

"What are you going to do about it?" His reply was cold and monotonous. There was a flik of annoyance in his blue eyes.

"I…I just wanted to know… if…" She hesitated, feeling a little shocked. "I'm… here to help..."

"It doesn't concern me." Rukawa looked away and narrowed his eyes. "It's a waste of time."

"I'm sorry, but, please… just let me help you with this!" Naomi pleaded, tears filling up her eyes. 

"It hurts." She thought, while clenching his fists. "But, I have to try."

"Rukawa-kun…" Naomi tried to reached for him, wanting to hold his hand and tell him how much she wants to help him. But, she stopped. There was like an invisible shield between them that she cannot break.

Rukawa got on his bicycle and and gave her one icy look. "You're just one of them, now go away."

She felt like lightning just struck her heart. "How could you be so cold? Why can't you just give me a chance?!" Naomi placed one hand on her chest. She felt like pulling out her heart. It was too painful to be rejected…again.

Still, she would try. For him. Only for him.

* * *

A Saturday morning walk in their neighborhood park was a daily routine for her, Yumi, the girl with brown hair reaching her shoulders and a book cuddled up in her hand. At school she was Yumi, Naomi's new best friend; The transferee; The shy one or just plain old Yumi Ichihara: Queen of Silence. She didn't care. She was used to having a few company, her books were her true best friends. But without Naomi's help she wouldn't met Haruko, Fujii and Matsui. Yumi walked silently on the freshly cut grass, enjoying her weekend. She suddenly recalled what happened the other night last week as she came near to the basketball court.

The way he moved through the air. It _never_ changed. He was one with the wind. It was like he had a deal with gravity.

It made her tense again.

Then she remembered what Naomi told her. The investigation. "I don't think I could handle that." She admitted. 

Quietly she walked away from the court.

"Hey!" Ohkusu, the blond haired guy tapped the shoulder of his friend, Noma.

"Yeah?" He replied, scratching his mustache, looking a little sleepy.

"Isn't that Ichihara?" He asked, pointing behind the tree they were resting. Noma and him squinted to look at the small girl walking down the park.

"What are you guys up to this time?" Yohei Mito broke their thoughts. "I see…" He rubbed his chin looking at their direction, "You guys checking out a girl?"

"No!" Ohkusu exclaimed looking back at Yohei. "I just spotted a classmate of ours. And she was alone."

"So?" Yohei asked.

"Normally she's with this other girl y'see." Noma straightened his shoulders.

"Very pretty girl!" Takamiya, the fat guy added. In his hand was a popsicle, dripping down his fingers.

"What's that got to do with _her_?" Yohei looked puzzled.

"Actually," Ohkusu pointed. "Those two girls are always together. Noma kinda likes that other girl. Her name is Naomi."

"What!" Noma's eyes popped out. "Me?!"

Yohei ignored that for a second at watched Yumi walking. "I think _this_ girl is quite pretty too."

"Yeah, but the other one is very pretty." Takamiya licked the stick of his popsicle and threw it in the trash can beside him. "Yumi is a little shy and Naomi-chan is---" 

Takamiya suddenly stopped talking. In front of him stood a tall pale girl, with long black hair. Her eyes were glaring at him.

The rest of them turned to look at Takamiya and gaped as they saw the other girl. The girl then took a long glance at Yumi from afar until she was out of sight.

"Hatsue-san." Yohei said silently. The girl, whom he called just turned her back at them and left.

"You know her, Mito?" Ohkusu moved away from the tree and walked towards him.

"I do." He answered, lost in thought.

"Well… she gives me the creeps." Noma admitted, faking a shudder.

There was a chill moment of silence.

"Hey, I'm getting quite bored here. Why don't we go check on Hanamichi?" Yohei finally suggested and started walking.

"Good idea. I'm hungry!" Takamiya rubbed his belly.

"He said, go check on Hanamichi, not eat! You glutton!" Ohkusu shot back.

And so, the Sakuragi Army decided to go visit the basketball club and annoy their great "Tensai" leader. They arrived in the gym several minutes later. The boys were having a match against themselves. There were 2 guys missing in the team. The captain and the deputy captain.

"Where's Gori?" Yohei noticed.

"And Megane-kun?" Noma added.

"They're officially off the team now." Haruko answered, appearing beside them. "My brother and Kogure-san are out for college. He just announced it yesterday before the practice."

"That's sad. We're going to miss Gori and his Gorilla dunks." Takamiya said sadly.

"Good thing Hanamichi is still here." Ohkusu observed Sakuragi while dribbling the ball, Miyagi was right behind him. The small point guard raced and quickly snatched the ball from Sakuragi, then passing it to Mitsui. Mitsui ran and halted in front of the white border line and jumped with grace. The ball flew straihgt inside the hoop.

"Another 3 for red team!" Ayako yelled, changing the score: 45-39.

"_What's my name? Huh? What's my name?!_" Mitsui waved his fists in the air and exchanging a high five with Miyagi. His handsome face beaming with victory.

"Excellent, Mitsui-san!" Miyagi praised him.

"That was great, Mitsui-san!" Yasuda added.

"Miyagi-san is their new captain and Yasuda-san is vice captain. Mitsui-san will still play for the games before he leaves." Haruko explained to them, while blankly staring at Rukawa who now held the ball.

Rukawa dribbled the ball to the other side of the court, his feet running as fast as it would take him. Sweat dripped down his flawless face, sliding down his neck.

"_You can't run far enough, Rukawa!!!_" Sakuragi ran after the tall rookie. His face was flaming mad because he hadn't scored anything yet.

"Anou… Sakuragi-kun, Rukawa is your teammate!" Haruko gasped.

"Yeah, Hanamichi!!! Just leave the scoring to Rukawa!!!" Takamiya shouted. Then the rest of them laughed.

After a few minutes there was a sudden noise coming from the soccer field. Haruko, Yohei and the others went to check it out.

The soccer players were screaming in anger as they arrived.

"_What is this, the end of the world?_" Yohei asked, looking around.

"I think that's your answer." Haruko pointed at the large shaved portion of the field. All of them exchanged shocked expressions as they saw it. The grass was mowed into fine big letters saying:

RUKAWA KAEDE IS MY FAVORITE SNUGGLE PLUSHY

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Sorry about that. ^_^;;; You can strangle me after the end of the whole story. Hehe.


	5. Victim

I finally updated!

Sorry for the long wait. I just needed for my other fic to catch up. Anyway… The following chapter you will read is about Rukawa's thoughts. It may not sound like him but that's the best I can do.

If ever I don't update this story at once, that means I'm trying to finish my Fujima fic first.

Anyhoo… Enjoy!

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Chapter 5 - Victim

It was the sun.

The bright morning light of the warm star blinded his vision. It made him blink and squint at the same time. He shielded his deep cobalt blue eyes with his slim fingers creating a barrier between the blazing sunlight and his eyesight. The burning heat caused him to perspire and tiny beads of sweat gently rolled down the perfectly chiseled features of his face, and all the way down to his neck. It was making it more uncomfortable and hard for him.

Then there came the wind. 

Coming to his rescue, her endless arms were spread wide open, embracing him and softly kissing the surface of his pale wet skin. It made chills run down his spine for the moment, as he slowly gasped out for air with a slight shudder. The cool breeze continued to blow against him, slamming into his firm and slender physique. He declined his hands away from his face and slowly closed his eyes. It felt relaxing. Gently inhaling and exhaling, he let his thoughts wander off together with her...the wind.

My goal is to be the best.

I will be the best in all Japan.

I will make it to America.

I will be in the NBA.

I will be the greatest player there is.

No one can stop me.

He spoke to her, reciting those words in his mind again for the last time and a long deep breath. Then he let it all out…

He walked away from the edge of the rooftop and sat in the middle of the cool concrete tiled floor of the building. Carefully he lied down with his arms behind his head, watching the clouds frolic in vast blue emptiness.

* * *

"Why me?"

I ask myself this same annoying question almost everyday since that so-called incident in the gym happened. Of all the people in this school, why should it be me?

So, it _is_ true. Shit happens.

"Why would someone do such an offensive thing?"

Yeah right. Like, who's dumb enough to answer that? No one confessed. So the culprit is still at large.

Who in the world is that stupid to compare me to a stuffed toy? I mean, you can compare me to a book or tree but a toy? That word feels particularly offensive.

"It's just letters."

You think I'm overreacting because of those? You're not the one getting these trashy messages with cryptic words about someone obviously obsessed with you in your locker almost every damned day. I fear for the safety of my things.

Now my teammates are suddenly expecting fan mails in my locker every practice. 

It's nothing. I just want it to stop.

Especially now that even _they_ are being just too interested. Stay away from my stuff.

"What do I think about the incident?"

I don't really talk too much because I just want my thoughts to myself. Is that bad? It's a free world, ain't it? So, that means is it free for them to make fun of me? What did I do to that crappy loser anyway? 

What's in my mind, stays in my mind. Got a problem with that?

People think I don't give a damn. Hell yeah I don't. But…It's just a little disturbing. 

My life is a closed book. I don't want anyone 'reading or re-writing' it. So what's their problem? Why? Why of all the people to annoy… why me?

There goes that stupid excuse for a question again.

Right now from where I am staying, I could sense whoever that person is, he or she or that thing is thinking of what to do next. 

I still couldn't figure that out. If you want to scare the hell out of me, why not just go to my pad and kill me right there. Not that I'm scared of you. I'm not afraid to die. I've accepted long ago that death is a part of life. The point is, why involve the whole school? All I can say is, you are worse than that idiot redhead.

The hardest thing in this world is to live in it.

"What the f*** does he want from me anyway?" 

He? If he was gay, probably. Could be a woman too. So what does she want from me? Painting the gym was acceptable. Why the soccer field now too? How could it even manage to do that? 

That person is really sick.

An obsessed fan? I heard Sempai (Mitsui) mention that, I don't know when. Hell. I know I got fans. If you could call them fans, that is. Their squeals make me think of piglets. I doubt they want to be thought of as piglets. So why do they waste so much time yelling themselves hoarse? Seriously, they're annoying and irritating. They make you lose your concentration and interfere with games. 

Who invented fans anyway?

__

They are parasites who will feed upon humanity, until they have completely co-opted your species.

I think I read that somewhere in my Biology book. Hn. I can't remember.

Why can't they just be themselves instead of pretending to be someone else? Do they actually think I would fall for that lame old stunt? Do'ahou. So, you're my fan. That's nice, thanks for the praising, but please… I'm not your _God_. I don't give for praises.

"Would I ever accept my fans?"

That's a question that hasn't been answered yet. It _might_ be good having fans, but not like _this_. 

Guess what. I do accept fans after all. Some of my teammates think I'm good. One of them doesn't think so.

"Where do I go from here?"

If this nonsense continues, I don't care. You enjoy that? Fine. At least I'm giving happiness to someone. Like I said, I don't give a damn.

"Happiness…Fullfillment."

One. Become the best player in all Japan; Two. Go to America; Three. Join the NBA.

Damn, my mind sure is talkative today. Must be something I ate.

* * *

He stood up trying to forget everything he thought. The man people call Rukawa Kaede heaved a sigh.

Once again he turned back to look at the sun and protected his eyes. Then he turned back and descended the stairs going back to his classroom.

"Rukawa-kun…" Some random girl he passed by and called his name. She blushed. Then another girl looked at him as if she would faint… or die. Her face becoming pale.

Still, looking like a moving tower, he continued to walk down the hallway. He heard countless whispers and sighs of every girl he passed by. The men he saw just stood there gaping at him, wondering how tall he was… mentioning his name like he was a criminal or some movie actor.

"What the hell is wrong with them?" He mumbled, his dark hair covering his eyebrows and almost touching his eyes.

* * *

I went down the stairs, knowing that I was late for my next subject. I don't know what subject it was anyway. Why bother? Going through the hallway, I could see some girls staring at me like I was some sort of creature from the heavens. One girl said my name. What do you get when you say my name? Do they even need to speak of me when I pass by? It's freaky, I tell you.

After that, she looked red like a tomato. No, even redder… almost rotten.

Then another girl looked at me, she looked like she just saw a ghost. So, I don't comb my hair? Got a problem with that? Am I _that_ scary? Maybe she hasn't seen Akagi-san yet.

I continued my walk in the hallway of fame. I could still hear some students murmuring. I decided to ignore it, I was getting a little sleepy. Being under the sun for a few moments always made me drowsy. 

Although, _they_ woke me up. I couldn't believe it but, some guys where actually gaping at me. This school gets weirder and weirder everyday. I wonder what it feels to study in Ryonan?

At last, I arrived in my destination without getting hurt from all those glares, my humble classroom. To my surprise, even though my eyes didn't really look surprised, it was empty.

I forgot. It's P.E. They were outside the field. 

I went to my seat near the wall pinned with paper full of announcements and sat down. Since there was nobody there at all to scold me, I took a nap. No one would dare to wake me up. They know they would end up hurt anyway.

I woke up during our Math subject. I knew it was math because I got a glimpse of the blackboard. Numbers and equations. I really don't like math, so I closed my eyes again and fell asleep.

I was awake when it was English. I needed that subject. Future use, when I enter the NBA. I really have a hard time pronouncing some words in the sentences but I kept on trying. Hey, we use some english terms too in basketball.

Our next class was Science, or maybe it was Literature. I don't know. We have the same professors for those two subjects. English made me really tired so I decided to sleep again.

It was 4 something in the afternoon when I woke up again. Great. Time for practice. I needed something to keep me alive this time. I rushed out of the classroom and headed for my locker to change my shoes when someone bumped into me. 

Was that person blind?

It was a girl. I think I saw her somewhere before. Hn. But, I'm not really good at remembering things.

I eyed her from where I stood, she had short brown hair, up to the shoulders, she was looking at me nervously.

What?! It's not I'm going to eat you alive! Geez.

Wait, did she do that on purpose?

* * *

"G-gomen ne, Rukawa-san." Yumi bowed nervously, trying to hide her face. "I-I'm very sorry. I… I should really look where I am going." Without even letting him speak she fled, running towards the exit.

The tall rookie noticed she dropped something. A book.

"Oi." He knew she wouldn't hear him. He picked up the book and placed it inside his locker. Then he changed his shoes and went directly to the gym.

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You can shoot me now. ^_^


End file.
